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    A Writer's Diary
    A Writer's Diary
    A Writer's Diary
    Audiobook16 hours

    A Writer's Diary

    Written by Virginia Woolf

    Narrated by Susan Ericksen

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    About this audiobook

    From 1918 to 1941, even as she penned masterpiece upon masterpiece, Virginia Woolf kept a diary. She poured into it her thoughts, feelings, concerns, objections, interests, and disappointments—resulting in twenty-six volumes that give unprecedented insight into the mind of a genius.



    Collected here are the passages most relevant to her work and writing. From exercises in the craft of writing; to locations, events, and people that might inspire scenes in her fiction; to meditations on the work of others, A Writer's Diary takes a fascinating look at how one of the greatest novelists of the English language prepared, practiced, studied, and felt as she created literary history.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateDec 18, 2018
    ISBN9781977332486
    Author

    Virginia Woolf

    VIRGINIA WOOLF (1882–1941) was one of the major literary figures of the twentieth century. An admired literary critic, she authored many essays, letters, journals, and short stories in addition to her groundbreaking novels, including Mrs. Dalloway, To The Lighthouse, and Orlando.

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    Reviews for A Writer's Diary

    4/5

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    • 4/5
      I found this book interesting to read, yet this was maybe the hardest Woolf book I have read. This contains samples from Woolf's dairy selected by her husband after her death that dealt with her writing process. If you are looking for entries about her personal life you won't really find them here (maybe a few here and there).

      Maybe the hardest part about reading this for me was at times you could tell she had mental illness. Some entries seemed to be all over the place. You would have to read some days over again to figure out what she is saying. Now this isn't a bad thing? This is her dairy, no editors, so I was expecting some raw material. I wasn't expecting that she focused too much on what other people thought of her work and that at times she put herself down and other times she gave herself high praise.

      I loved the fact she read so much. I expect most authors to read a ton of the classics, but at times she seemed to be reading 3 books a week. For me this is impressive because she never when to school as a child and had no real form of education. Obviously reading taught her things that other people didn't teach her. This kind of shows you the power of reading. Yet reading too much also made her think she could do better with her writing.

      The other interesting par of this diary I found was the mentions of Hitler and the Second World War. I know she has talked several other times about her and not liking war. Three Guineas and Mrs. Dalloway cover that topic. Yet she doesn't really talk about Hitler or the Nazis in her books that I recall. I'd never put the two together. Obviously she hated Hitler and the war. I still wonder if the war had something to do with her suicide.

      If you have read Woolf before this is a must read, but if you haven't read anything by Woolf, I'd save this for last. I might turn you off with her writing. I kind of wish this included her last entry before she killed herself, would have been interesting to read. However, as much as I like Woolf I doubt I'll ever want to read her full dairy. I liked this, but it was messy at times. Woolf life was one beautiful mess.
    • 5/5
      A fantastic view on how an author splits her time between writing and being a wife, sister, friend, and neighbor.
    • 5/5
      I lingered through this gorgeous book, all the while connecting with Virginia Woolf as a writer, especially understanding her exhaustion after finishing the final corrections of a novel, and the unsettled feeling after it's published...thinking: It's no good, no one's going to like it, it's nonsense...and then being surprised when people do like it (she pretty much knew out of her critics who wouldn't.)

      I loved this entry from Wednesday, September 6th 1922:

      "My proofs [Jacobs Room:] come every other day and I could depress myself adequately if I went into that. The thing now reads thin and pointless; the words scarcely dint the paper; and I expect to be told I've written a graceful fantasy, without much bearing upon real life. Can one tell? Anyhow, nature obligingly supplies me with the illusion that I am about to write something good; something rich and deep and fluent, and hard as nails, while bright as diamonds."

      Leonard Woolf gleaned some gems from the years to make the thoughts of Virginia Woolf accessible to readers...and for writers. I believe it is essential reading for a writer...not in the "how to" sense, but in the emotional level as a writer goes through the process of writing... There's something very comforting knowing that you're not alone while you're at the computer typing with your emotional spigots on full blast and wondering all the while if you're going mad...chances are, you're not...you're just more aware, more curious, more sensitive, and thankfully, you've tapped into that beautiful vein of creativity and you're doing something with it...that is a good thing (just go with it!)

      As far as insight about the grim "why" she filled her pockets with stones and walked into the river to drown herself, if that's what you're looking for it's not really there, yet it is... but try not to think about that "end" while reading it because you'll miss out on the good stuff...she had troubles, yes, we all do get headaches and anxieties and we can relate to the suffering through various ailments...but please, don't try to diagnose her, just enjoy her. Learn from her.

      This book is a beautiful human document, and I love it. A Writer's Diary is going to have a permanent home on the shelf next to my writing desk.
    • 3/5
      I don't really know much about the relationship between Leonard and Virginia Woolf, but this book was lovingly edited. Excerpted from her unabridged diaries, Leonard Woolf culled the bits that he thought to be most about writing--the process, exercises, etc. These entries detail her exhaustive writing and revision process, as well as the relationship between her own reading and writing. She often sets herself schedules and tasks here, which were interesting to read. Reading this book has re-invigorated my writing self.
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